Hinted at for the past few months, and nearly confirmed through some sneaky updates to the original game, Portal 2 has now been officially confirmed on the newest cover of Game Informer.

Unlike its predcessor, which took pride of place in The Orange Box in 2007, Portal 2 will be a fully fledged standalone game. With the incredible reception to Valve’s puzzle take on the Half Life universe, a sequel was inevitable, though the prospect of leaving Aperture Science’s labs (Seen in the GI Cover) is interesting.

Us here at Nukoda are especially excited about playing Portal 2 soon as we’re such fans of Valve’s work thus far but release dates are being kept under wraps for now. Expect a barrage of info as the year continues.

Lara Croft is embarking on yet another adventure in the recently announced ‘Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light’. Naturally this raises the question as to why the Tomb Raider name has been abandoned, presumably left in some musty cave infested with raptors and wolves living in co-existance.

The series name has been somewhat of a misnomer over it’s several incarnations with Lara taking more trips to landmarks such as Area 51 than in the final resting places of the dead. Could this shedding of tombs be another attempt at rebooting the franchise?

General Manager of Crystal Dynamics Darrell Gallagher said this new game will be something ‘completely new and very different’ giving weight to the reboot theory. Just pray that this new approach will not be a tacked-on multiplayer mode.

The game may not be a full retail title as it will be made available via Digital Download this year meaning it will most likely appear on XBLA and PSN. Expect more details after it’s first viewing at GDC next week.

A new study released by the Blitz marketing firm today suggests strongly that current video game marketing practices are coming up very short.

The study focused on the factors that influence the buying decisions of games who play games for at least seven hours a week, dubbed “Avid Gamers” by Blitz. According to the study, it’s these “avid gamers” that most game marketing fails to attract. The study notes that avid gamers actually have the most influence over purchases in households where they are not the primary game buyer.

In addition, more casual gamers buy based on the opinions of their “Avid Gamer” friends.

The basic conclusions drawn by the study to boost marketing muscle: Utilize social networking and mobile marketing, show actual gameplay, make websites that are relevant to users and give incentives for registering on those websites (cheats, discounts, etc.). The study also notes that marketers should focus on “what’s new” when marketing sequels. (more…)

Media Molecule Studios, developers of the multi-award winning LittleBigPlanet, have today been acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment. According to Sony’s press release, the acquisition is a strategic move “to secure excellence in game development for current and future PlayStation platforms”, and the move will undoubtedly ensure the future exclusivity of the LittleBigPlanet series to Sony’s consoles. Exact details of the acquisition have yet to surface, but it is probable that Media Molecule will continue to operate as a separate entity with support from Sony’s studios.

The multi-million selling LittleBigPlanet appeared as a console exclusive on the PS3 back in October 2008 to critical acclaim, and earned Media Molecule a series of awards including 2 BAFTAs and 8 AIAS Interactive Achievement Awards. The game was Media Molecule’s first, and its success was one of the highlights of the year for Sony and many PS3 gamers.

“Since Media Molecule’s inception, we’ve had a uniquely close relationship with Sony” said Alex Evans, co-founder of Media Molecule. “Over the years they have consistently shown their dedication to Creative Gaming and Media Molecule, not only through their support of the company, but their willingness to take risks and embrace our often unusual approach and ideas.”

The news has already got the gaming world gossiping about who may be next on Sony’s shopping list. Post your own thoughts, predictions or rumours below!

Coming soon to PSN and Xbox Live is the Just Cause 2 demo, which will be released on March 4th, 2010. It promises “a massive 35 square miles of the Lautan Lama Desert, a vast expanse of stunning, sun-scorched scenery taking up just one of the many islands in the 400 square miles of the Panau archipelago.”

Square Enix also states that the demo is “packed with towns, villages, military installations, mountain ranges, missions and more, the demo will feature an astonishing amount of activities for the player… and opportunities for adrenaline-fuelled chaos are limitless.”

Hunt down and assassinate one of the game’s 50 military colonels; devastate military bases, bio fuel chambers, government infrastructure and more; hijack tuk tuks, military 4×4s, armoured vehicles, mopeds, helicopter gunships, light aircraft, mini vans and numerous other military and civilian vehicles; freefall from desert outcrops or from burning planes at 20,000 feet; and unlock one full, multi-stage mission, traversing the mountains to a heavily fortified government radar station and ending in an unforgettable desert car chase.

“The Just Cause 2 demo is simply massive and with so much to do, the replay value is enormous,” said Lee Singleton, General Manager of Square Enix London Studios. “It’s easily one of the biggest free roaming demos of all time and for fans of open world games, it’s unmissable.”

Look out for the Just Cause 2 demo, available March 4th, 2010, on PlayStation®Network, Xbox LIVE® Marketplace and Steam.

Earlier today we Canadians received a great gift, and no it wasn’t the Canada vs. Slovakia Hockey game. Just like Touch Pets and Eliminate before it, ngmoco’s We Rule has come out in Canada before the rest of the world! I guess Canada is a great test bed for new games that rely heavily on a backend server. Having 10% of the population of the United States comes in handy some times … but you aren’t here for a geography lesson, so lets talk We Rule.

Taking the time based actions and resource management gameplay from Farmville, urban management from Sim City and esthetics from Kingdom of Keflings, We Rule seems to be doing everything right to leap into the hearts of gamers. Although I’m sure that the fact that it’s FREE title won’t hurt things either. Like titles before it ngmoco is releasing We Rule as another of it’s freemium titles. You get the first hit for FREE, but have to pay for certain parts of the game. In this title you pay for bottles of “Mojo”, a sort of fast-forward potion you can use to instantly complete certain actions. Mojo isn’t required for anything in the game, but impatient gamers will be buying the stuff by the case to make their kingdom grow faster then their friends. Smart move ngmoco, very smart.

The built quest system will help you get started, and keep you focused on growing your kingdom and it will also help you get acquainted on the main tasks of the game. Your time in We Rule will be equally divided between planting and harvesting your crops for gold, and using said gold to buy new buildings for your kingdom. These building range from little huts that attract more citizens, to shops and guildhalls. Besides buildings there is a full set of decorative items for your farmkingdom as well ala Farmville.(more…)

The legendary fighting series Street Fighter gets touchy feely with the release of Street Fighter IV for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Like its console counter-part, SF4 for iPhone is played from a 2D perspective, with additional 3D camera flourishes. Numerous new special moves have been mapped to a unique 4-button control scheme as well as the following new features:

Asking whether games can tell a narrative as well as Books is just asking for trouble, but Heavy Rain is one of the few games where this question is necessary. Neither a film nor a game, developers Quantic Dream have created an experience that manages to be mature, without losing the integrity to tell a gripping story. Forget whether it’s a game or not, this is Heavy Rain and gaming conventions don’t apply. (more…)

Nintendo have gone release date announcement crazy, announcing the first firm dates for 4 of the Wii’s major 2010 releases.

First to arrive will be Monster Hunter Tri, which was also announced to be subscription free at today’s European Media Summit. The Japanese release saw gamers forking out a subscription fee to play online, but when released on 23rd April, UK gamers at least will be able to experience the RPG without extra costs.

Next to appear in stores will be Sin & Punishment 2, now subtitled Successor of the Skies. The crazy shooter will be the first release in the series outside of Japan and will be hitting UK stores on May 7th, and the US on June 7th.

A surprisingly early release date was also announced for Super Mario Galaxy 2, the sequel to the official Best Game of 2007. North America will see the game on their shores on 23rd May, while the UK will have to wait until June 11th for their taste of the platforming action. It’s so exciting to see that the game is nearly here, sure to be a must play come the summer months.

Lastly, while no European date has been confirmed yet-a vague Q3 timeframe-June 27th is when Metroid fans can experience Team Ninja’s take on the series. Metroid: Other M is sure to be a highlight this year, for better or for worse, and us here at Nukoda can’t wait to get our hands on it.

Nintendo have surprised us with these early dates for such big titles, perhaps they look at Mario Kart and the time of year that game came out and are hedging their bets to replicate its huge success.

Today the ponderous machine that is Blizzard began the “StarCraft II” closed beta today, launching out invites to those who had requested keys many months ago. The beta is extremely limited at this time.

Reports trickle in as people ignore their non-disclosure-agreements (though some report there aren’t any) so some details have come in. (more…)

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Nukoda is a news blog detailing the latest news in gaming, movies and all other things geek.

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